Bernadine Kruger

Bernadine Kruger (1993 - 2009)

Brief overview:

Bernadine (16), a Garsfontein High School student, died on impact when a minibus taxi driver rammed her scooter and drove over her.

Testimony from eyewitness, Hugo Vermaak, who was driving along Atterbury Road, saw the accident happen between the Jacqueline and General Louis Botha Drive intersections.

"I was driving in a westerly direction. The traffic was heavy and we were moving very slowly. I saw the girl on her little scooter going in an easterly direction. She was in the left-hand lane. Then I saw the taxi speeding up behind her and hooting at her. Just as she wanted to change lanes, he hit her full-on. I saw her mouth open when he hit her. She fell and then he drove over her. It wasn't a pretty sight," Vermaak said.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • Initially the driver of the taxi, Percyval Matji (31), was charged for manslaughter, but after investigations by the National Prosecuting Authority, the charges were changed to murder.
  • On 9th September 2009, he was convicted of murder in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court. The judgement was handed down by magistrate Edmund Patterson, who said, "It was not a mistake. It was not negligence."

Additional Biographical Information:

Links to Media articles:

• http://archive.vn/QR6ew
• http://archive.vn/gvqDS
• http://archive.vn/CGhtH